Hernial truss.



PATENTED DEG. 15,'1903. F. P.. MQELPRESH.

HERNIALYTRUSS.

APPLIUATIOK FILE FD MAR. 24, 190 3.

H0 MODEL.

THE scams PETERS 00., mom-mug wblumcium a) a I UNITED STATES I Patented December 15, 1903.

P TENT OFFICE.

HERNIAPTRUSS.

srncrrrcn'rron forming n of Letters Patent No. 746,872, dated neeaber 15, 1903.

Application filed March 24, 1903.

To all whom it may concern. Be it known that I, FRANKLIN PIERCE Mc- ELFRESH, a citizen of the United States, re-

siding in Jackson township, in the county of .Shelby and State of I0wa,have invented a new and useful Truss, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in trusses, and has for its object to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient device of this character capable of use either as a single or double truss, which may beeasily' and readily adjusted without unnecessary pressure to suit all forms of hernia, and which from its simplicity gives entire freedom of movement and comfort to the wearer without danger of displacement.

A further objectof theinvention is to pro-' vide a truss which may be readily changed from a right to a left hand truss, in which the pressure exerted on the parts ,afi ected is obtained from the inherent spring tendency of the pad-supporting arms," thereby obviating; the use of elastic or similar supporting-belts, which clamp the body tightly and impede the circulation of the blood, which permits the body to be bent in any position without the liability of the pads chafing or otherwise injuring the afiected parts, and in which the pads may be raised or lowered or adjusted at any angle or inclination with respect to the body.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in form,

} proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without, departing from the spirit or sacrificing. any'ofthe advantages of this invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is f a perspective view of a truss constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. '2 is a vertical sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a side'elevation of one of the pads and supporting-arms, showing in" dotted'lines the bracket in the elevated position; and Fig. 4 isa detail perspective view of the pad-supporting arm's.

Similar numerals of reference indicate cor- Serial No. 149.385. (No model.)

responding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 designates a supporting-belt, which may be formed of canvas, leather, or other suitable non-elastic material, having a piece of pliable or malleable wire 2 bent into the form of a loop secured to the front thereof, the top and bottom of the loop lying parallel with the edges of the belt and being held in position by retaining-strips 3, stitched or otherwise secured'to'the belt, as shown.

Pivot ally secured to the top of the loop 2 at points intermediate its length is a pair of adjustable brackets 4:, the opposite ends of which are bent to form eyes or loops which encircle the wire and permit said brackets to turn freely thereon. The brackets 4 are each provided with longitudinally-extending pins or lugs 5, adapted to receive eyes 6, formed in the ends of spring pad-supporting arms 7, which loosely embrace said lugs and permit the removal of the arms7 when desired, as will be more fully explained hereinafter. Each pad-supporting arm 7 is preferably formed of a single piece of spring-wire bent on itself to form a number of flat loops 8, the opposite ends thereof extending npwardly,forming a pairof slightly-divergent arms,terminating in the eyesd. Slidably secured in any suitable manner to the bottom of the loop2 and in vertical alinement with the brackets 4 are clamping guides or loops 9, adapted to receive the pad-su pporting arms 7, which pass through said loop or guide. The pad 10, which may be of any desired shape, is preferably oval, as shown, and consists of a body portion provided with a packing 11, of felt or similar elastic material,-and a face plate 12, having secured thereto a leather disk 13. Interposed between the packing ll and the disk 13 are the fiat loops 8, the opposite faces of which are serrated or roughened, as shown, and the pad is secured in position by means of a clamping-screw 14,

fit within sockets 16 in the face-plate 12.

In fastening the pads to the belt the springsupporting arms are passed through the guides 9 by turning the padsidewise and pressing the arms inwardly until the eyes lie fiat against the belt, when the arms may be introduced therein, after which the arms are forced upwardly and the ends thereof pressed outwardly and passed over the lugs on the supporting-bracket 4, the bracket and supporting-arms being locked to the loop by pulling the arms downwardly through the clamping-guide. The pad may now be adjusted vertically by loosening the set screw and sliding said pad upwardly, or the padlmay be turned in the arc of a circle at any desired angle with respect to the belt, using the setscrew as a pivot. The pressure of the pad may be regulated by bending the wire composing the spring-supporting arms inwardly or outwardly, as the case may be, and said pad may be adjusted independently of the set screw by forcing the pad upwardly, which causes the pivoted bracket to swing upwardly on the wire or loop 2, thereby elevating the pad. The pliable wire in the belt permits said belt being bent to conform to the shape of the body, in which position it will be loosely supported by reason of the pressure exerted on the body by the supportingarms, allowing the body to move within the belt when bending or stooping, while the pads remain relatively fixed, thereby preventing rubbing or chafing of the affected parts. When it is desired to remove the pads for any reason, the pad and supporting arms are forced upwardly, causing the bracket to assume the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The arms may then be disengaged from the pins or lugs and the .pad removed by drawing downwardly on the same and giving the arms a slight turn, permitting said arms to clear the guide or loop.

It will be observed that when the brackets are thrown upwardly the relativedistance between said bracket and the clamping-guide is materially increased, thereby permitting the supporting-arms to be easily swung outwardly from engagement with the lugs or pins, and when said brackets are swung downwardly to their full extent the distance being lessened the divergent arms will be drawn downwardly through the guide, securely clamping said arms and locking the pad in position. I

The brackets and guides are free to slide on the loop lengthwise of the belt, and the pads are adjustable on the supporting-arms both angularly and vertically.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided an exceedingly simple and efficient truss, the pads of which may be easily removed or interchanged and adjusted to suit various forms of hernia, the truss being so constructed that the springsupporting arms not onlygive the desired pressure to the pad. but also support the belt in position on the wearer without the use of wire supports, elastic belts, and similar gegices which impede the circulation of the Having thus described the invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patant, is

1. v A trusscomprising abelt,a support forming part of the belt, a bracket pivoted to the support and longitudinally adjustable thereon, and a pad provided with divergent springsupporting arms detachably secured to the bracket.

2. A truss comprising a belt, a pliable loop secured to the belt, a bracket pivoted to the loop and longitudinally adjustable thereon, and a pad-carrying arm detachably secured to the bracket.

3. A truss comprisinga belt,a support forming part of the belt, a bracket pivoted to the support and longitudinally adjustable thereon, a guide carried by the support and a pad provided with spring-supportin g arms passing through the guide and engaging the bracket.

4. A truss comprising a belt, a pliable loop secured to the belt, a bracket pivoted to the loop and a pad provided with spring-supporting arms adapted to engage the bracket.

5. A truss comprisinga belt, a pliable metal loop secured to the belt, a bracket pivoted to the upper portion of the loop, a guide secured to the lower portion of said loop, and a pad provided with spring-supporting arms adapted to engage the bracket.

6. A truss comprising a non-elastic belt, a

reinforcing pliable loop secured to the belt, a bracket pivoted to the upper portion of the loop, a guide carried by the lower end thereof, and an adjustable pad provided with upwardly extending spring arms passing through the guide and engaging the bracket.

7. A truss comprising a belt, a reinforcing pliable loop secured thereto, a bracket provided with laterally-extending pins or lugs pivoted to the upper portion of the loop, a guide secured to the lower portion thereof, a sectional pad, and a pair of spring-supporting arms adj ustably secured to the pad, and provided with terminal eyes or loops adapted to engage the pins or the bracket.

8. A truss comprising a belt, a pliable loop secured to the belt, a bracket pivoted to the loop, a sectional pad, spring-supporting arms provided with terminal eyes adapted to engage the bracket and having lower end portions bent to form a plurality of flat loops adj ustably secured to the pad, and means for clamping the pad to the arms,

9. A truss comprising a belt, a pliable loop secured to the belt, a bracket pivoted to the upper portion of the loop, a guide slidably mounted on the lower end thereof and an adjustable pad provided with upwardly-extending divergent spring-arms passing through the guide and engaging the bracket.

, 10. In a truss, a belt, a loop forming a part of the belt, a bracket adjustable lengthwise of the upper portion of the loop, a guide ad- IIO Justable lengthwise of the lower portion of surfaces, andapad-clamping means forholdro the loop, a pad carrying arm extending ing the pad to said'arm; l through the guide and having terminal arms In testimony that I claim the foregoing as detachably secured to the bracket, and a pad I my own Lhave hereto affixed my signature in secured to said arm. the presence of two witnesses.

11. In a device of the class specified, a. belt, FRANKLIN PIERCE MCELFRESH. a pad, and a pad-carrying arm comprising a. Witnesses: section of wire linked to form a. plurality of JOSEPH YAGKEY,

substantially parallel loops having serrated GEORGE S. RAINBOW. 

